Claim and Evidence Writing
Learn
When we learn about communities, we can share what we discover by writing. Good writers make a claim and then give evidence to support it.
What Is a Claim?
A claim is a statement that tells what you think or believe based on what you learned. It answers a question or shares an idea.
Example claims about communities:
- "Cities have more tall buildings than small towns."
- "Communities near water often have fishing as an important job."
- "Rural communities have more open space than urban communities."
What Is Evidence?
Evidence is information that proves your claim is true. Evidence can come from:
- Facts you read in a book or article
- Data from charts or graphs
- Information from maps
- Details from photographs or primary sources
How to Write with Claim and Evidence
- Make your claim: Write one sentence that tells your main idea.
- Give evidence: Add 1-2 sentences with facts or details that support your claim.
- Explain: Tell why the evidence supports your claim.
Sentence Starters for Evidence
These phrases help you add evidence to your writing:
- "For example, ..."
- "The data shows that ..."
- "According to the map, ..."
- "The photograph shows ..."
- "One fact that supports this is ..."
Examples
Example 1: Claim About Urban Communities
Claim: Urban communities have many people living close together.
Evidence: For example, the data shows that New York City has over 8 million people living in a small area. The photograph of the city shows tall apartment buildings where many families live.
Explanation: This shows that cities pack many people into a small space using tall buildings.
Example 2: Claim About Rural Communities
Claim: Rural communities have more farms than cities.
Evidence: According to the map, most farmland is located in areas far from big cities. The chart shows that 90% of farms are in rural areas.
Explanation: Farms need a lot of space, so they are found in rural communities where there is more land.
Example 3: Claim Using a Primary Source
Claim: Communities have changed a lot over 100 years.
Evidence: The old photograph from 1920 shows dirt roads and horse carts. Today, the same street has paved roads and cars.
Explanation: This proves that transportation in communities has changed over time.
Practice
Answer these questions to practice writing claims and evidence.
1. What is a claim?
Think about what a claim tells the reader.
2. What is evidence?
Think about how we prove a claim is true.
3. Which is a claim? A) "There are 50 states." B) "Cities are better places to live than farms."
A claim is an opinion or idea, not just a fact.
4. Name two places you can find evidence about communities.
Think about maps, charts, photos, and books.
5. Write a claim about urban (city) communities.
What is something true about cities?
6. Here is a claim: "Communities near oceans often have fishing jobs." Write one piece of evidence to support this claim.
Use "For example" or "The data shows."
7. A chart shows: Town A has 2 parks, Town B has 5 parks, Town C has 1 park. Write a claim based on this data.
Which town has the most or fewest parks?
8. Why is it important to give evidence when you make a claim?
Think about how evidence helps readers believe you.
9. Here is a claim: "Suburban communities have many houses with yards." Write one sentence of evidence using the phrase "For example."
Describe what you might see in a suburb.
10. A photograph shows a community with many boats in a harbor. Write a claim about what jobs people might have in this community.
What do boats tell us about work?
11. Read this: "Claim: Mountain communities have cold winters. Evidence: The temperature chart shows an average of 20 degrees in January." Does the evidence support the claim? Explain.
Does 20 degrees sound cold?
12. Write a complete paragraph with a claim about rural communities. Include at least one piece of evidence.
Start with your claim, then add evidence, then explain.
Check Your Understanding
Answer these questions to see what you have learned.
Question 1: Which sentence is a claim?
Question 2: What is the purpose of evidence in writing?
Question 3: Which phrase is a good way to introduce evidence?
Next Steps
- Practice writing claims about your own community
- Look for evidence in books, maps, and charts to support your claims
- Use evidence sentence starters when you write
- Continue to the next lesson: Unit Checkpoint